The story for today has similarities to the one that was published yesterday. In looking for a story yesterday, I saw a marriage between a Fritsche and a Lorenz and figured I had already written that story since those two names were quite prominent in the Farrar area. I looked carefully before concluding that I had not yet written that story. The same thing happened today, and it also involves a couple from Farrar. Today, you will be hear about a couple made up of a Mahnken who married an Eggers. Once again, I figured I had already told this story, but I hadn’t. I will also add that it is too late to ask, but two of our guest bloggers, Fred and Cal Eggers, would be much more qualified to tell this story. If I get anything wrong, I hope they gently correct me.
The tale today begins with a birthday girl. Her name was Marie Christiane Eggers, who was born on November 13, 1891, making today her 130th birthday. Marie most often went by the name Mary. She was the daughter of Henry and Katharine (Soehl) Eggers. Here is a photo of Mary’s parents.
Mary was the 5th child of 8 in her family. Her baptism record is found in the books of Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. It is displayed below.
Mary shows up in a census entry for the first time in 1900. Her family was living in the Salem Township, so we have to look in the pages that are so difficult to read in order to find her. She was 8 years old, and her father was a farmer.
I was unable to find Mary in a 1910 census entry. I know that she was no longer living with her parents. The most likely place to look elsewhere for her would be St. Louis, where a lot of Perry County girls would go to become servants. I found a Mary Eggers who was about the right age living there, but she was a daughter in another family. Let’s turn our attention to Mary’s future husband.
Johann Heinrich Gottlieb Mahnken was born on March 2, 1884, the son of Johann and Maria (Versemann) Mahnken. This boy would mostly go by the name, Gottlieb Mahnken. Based on a translation app, the name Gottlieb means “Dear God”, and the name Mahnken means “to warn”. That is how I came up with today’s title. Gottlieb, like Mary, was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. An image of his baptism record is shown here.
We can also take a look at Gottlieb’s Perry County birth record.
We find Gottlieb in the 1900 census, but he is called Henry at that time. It is the only time he was referred to as Henry Mahnken in a census. This is one of the better images I’ve found in the Salem Township 1900 census pages.
Next, we find Gottlieb in the 1910 census at the age of 26. He was working on his father’s farm.
Gottlieb Mahnken married Mary Eggers on April 23, 1911 at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can take a look at the church marriage record for this event.
There was also an article published in the Perry County Republican describing this wedding.
The 1915 plat maps for Perry County show a piece of property east of Farrar with the name of John Mahnken as the owner. I figure this was the farm of Gottlieb’s father.
Gottlieb Mahnken had his World War I draft registration form completed in 1918.
Gottfried and Marie had 7 children. The first two were stillborn, and the last one died of a ruptured appendix before the age of 10. The 1920 census shows the following Mahnken household with two children. Also in the household were Gottlieb’s parents and some of his younger siblings.
The 1930 census was the last one that included Mary Mahnken. There were 4 children, with one more born later that year.
Mary Mahnken died in 1936 at the age of 44. Her death certificate is shown below.
Mary’s obituary was published in the Perry County Republican.
That left Gottfried as a widower with 5 children, the youngest being 8 years old. That youngest child was the one who died in 1939 as a result of a burst appendix. Just before the 1940 census was taken, Gottlieb married again. His second wife was Verna Kassel, who was born on February 10, 1918. She was the oldest child of Henry and Ernestine (Koenig) Kassel. Verna was also baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar.
I am going to skip over the early census records for Verna. She and Gottlieb were married on April 18, 1940 at Salem, Farrar. Below is the marriage license for this couple.
We find Verna included in the household when the 1940 census was taken. You might notice that Verna was two years younger than Gottlieb’s oldest son, Hilmer.
Gottlieb had to have a World War II draft card completed when the United States got involved in that war.
Gottlieb Mahnken died in 1962 at the age of 77. His death certificate is pictured here.
Verna Mahnken died in 1979 at the age of 61. Gottlieb, Mary, and Verna are all buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.
That’s all I have. Maybe Fred or Cal Eggers have things to add. Or things to correct.